Back to Bethel--I Will Make an Altar There

Its amazing to me how powerful it is, in the face of my fear, to make the declaration “I will make an altar there to God.”It takes effort to build an altar. Ordinary stones are lifted and gathered. The very terrain of our circumstance provides the materials. We stack the ordinary stones to create a way to praise, honor and sacrifice to His glory.

#218 Back to Bethel Gen 35 I Will Make an Altar There

I will make an altar there to God“…Let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me wherever I have gone.” Genesis 35:3 To make this journey we must GET UP and GET GOING.

From Shechem to Bethel is a continuous ascent from 1,880 ft above sea-level to 2,890 feet. (Soncino) The journey back to the place of our fear brings us to higher ground when we journey in obedience to God, for we know that He has been with us wherever we have gone.

Journey to the place of our fear with the intent to make an altar! Go with the intent to gratefully acknowledge His faithfulness and to fervently reciprocate all His benefits by renewing our vows of sacrifice. We can blindly experience life as a victim of circumstance. But God calls us to triumph in Christ in the face of challenge. One step to overcome the victim mindset is to set a holy intention. The power of holy intention creates inspiration that leads to a change of focus, thinking and then inspires actions that support the intention. Paul ran his race with deliberate intention. He ran to triumph in Christ. 1 Corinthians 9:24 “Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air.” 1 Corinthians 9:26

“So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods which they had, and the rings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.” Genesis 35:4 Jacob prepared himself and all those who travelled with him. The idols and trinkets of sin can be ‘buried’ because we renew the commitment that they are dead to us. When we journey to the place of our fear we are especially blessed when those who travel with us are also in the same purifying preparation. What a blessing to have such a Brotherhood! “Resist him, standing firm in your faith and remember that the strain is the same for all your fellow-Christians in other parts of the world. And after you have borne these sufferings a very little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to share his eternal splendor through Christ, will himself make you whole and secure and strong. All power is his for ever and ever, amen!” 1 Peter 5:9-11 Phillips

The fear of the Lord“As they journeyed, there was a great terror upon the cities which were around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.” Genesis 35:6

Instead of letting the fear of men and outcomes fill our hearts, we can realize the power of the fear of God. He can use His power to create a fear and respect in the hearts of those who oppose us. “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper…” Isaiah 54:17 He knows how to protect His own! For this is what the LORD said to me, when He took me by the hand and charged me not to walk in the path of that people: “You must not call conspiracy all that that people call conspiracy, nor revere what it reveres, nor hold it in awe. None but the LORD of Hosts shall you account holy; give reverence to Him alone, Hold Him alone in awe.” Isaiah 8:11-13 Tanakh

And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, (quoted from Isaiah 8:12)but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts…1 Peter 3:14-15

“And he built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him, when he fled from his brother.” Genesis 35:7